Program offers a day of respite for the caretaker

Shared Care has offered caregivers a day off for 30 years

February 26, 2013|By Lois K. Solomon, Sun Sentinel

Boca Raton — — For 30 years, some devoted volunteers have been assisting disabled seniors, allowing their caretakers a day each week of respite.

Now those volunteers, who have remained committed over the decades, are aging themselves. Most are in their 80s and 90s, potentially confronting their own near futures as they offer comfort to seniors who have had strokes or suffer from dementia. They sing with the participants, tell them stories and jokes, describe current events and help them exercise.

As Shared Care, a project of three Boca Raton houses of worship, celebrates its 30th anniversary with several upcoming celebrations, the volunteers say they are lively and energetic enough to continue indefinitely.

The weekly program at Temple Beth El was organized by the synagogue, Grace Community Church and St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church as a way to offer five hours of relief to caregivers overwhelmed with the burden of a disabled spouse or relative.

At the time, there were few other programs that offered caregiver respite, said Ginny Bond, 92, a Shared Care founder.

Since then, an assortment of programs has emerged, including adult day care at the Volen Center in Boca Raton, the Weisman Delray Community Center and the Memory and Wellness Center at Florida Atlantic University.

Shared Care costs only $25 for the year, an extremely low fee compared to many other day programs, said Abbi Bentz, clinical services director at Village Home Care in Delray Beach and co-chairwoman of the Interfaith Health and Wellness Association.

Bentz said disabled seniors are often left home alone, jeopardizing their safety, because their spouses need to shop for groceries or get a haircut.

"It's a solution to a big need that's out there," Bentz said. She said the interfaith association is trying to start up similar low-cost programs at other houses of worship.

The problems facing unpaid family caregivers have become a growing area of scholarship and concern. Many caretakers are elderly themselves and in fair to poor health, according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. Studies show high levels of emotional stress and depression among caregivers, who use prescription and psychotropic drugs at a higher rate than the general population.

Caregiver Nancy Mercier, 72, said she keeps her stress under control by having an extensive support network and bringing her husband, Jim, 73, who had a stroke eight years ago, to Shared Care.

"It's the one place he goes to that I don't go to," Mercier said.

About 15 people attend the Wednesday gathering each week. Participants bring their lunches and are offered coffee, tea and snacks. There are two volunteers for each member, many of whom are wheelchair-bound. Some come with their own aides.

The aging nature of the volunteer corps has not gone unnoticed by the group. Volunteer Jimmy Verni is 83. Bud Anthone is 90. Anne Goodman is 93.

"There's a gray area where we don't know if we're members or volunteers," joked Sally Hardy, 81, a volunteer with her husband, Robin, also 81.